There is a State Coordinating Council for Children in the Office.

The Council consists of the following members: the Special Secretary of the Governor’s Office for Children, or the Special Secretary’s designee; the Secretary of Juvenile Services, or the Secretary’s designee; the Secretary of Health, or the Secretary’s designee; the Secretary of Human Services, or the Secretary’s designee; and the State Superintendent of Schools, or the Superintendent’s designee. The Secretary of Budget and Management, or the Secretary’s designee, shall serve as a nonvoting ex officio Council member. The Secretary of Disabilities, or the Secretary’s designee, shall serve as a nonvoting ex officio Council member. The Children’s Cabinet shall designate up to three individuals to serve on the Council on a rotating basis to represent each of the following stakeholder groups: family members or family advocates; and youth or youth advocates.

The office of chair of the Council shall rotate annually among the members of the Council appointed under § 8–402(a) of this subtitle, in the order listed in that subsection. The term of the chair is 1 year. The Office shall provide staff support for the Council.

The Council shall address the population of children who are in out–of–state placements or are recommended for out–of–state placements, including: reviewing recommendations for State funding of the individual placement of a child in need of out–of–state placement; coordinating the monitoring of out–of–state residential facilities for children as required by statute; tracking the types, costs, and effectiveness of services required to meet the needs of children who are recommended for out–of–state placements; providing training and technical assistance to local agency and community partners; making recommendations to the appropriate secretary on the development of regulations to carry out this subtitle; and performing other related activities that the Children’s Cabinet identifies.

There is a local care team in each county.

Each local care team shall include: at least one representative from: the Department of Juvenile Services; the Developmental Disabilities Administration; the Behavioral Health Administration; if determined to be appropriate by the Behavioral Health Administration, the local core service agency or local behavioral health authority; the local school system; the local health department; the local department of social services; and the local management board; a parent, parent advocate, or both, appointed by the chair of the local care team in consultation with the child advocacy community; and a nonvoting representative of the local office of the division of rehabilitative services to represent individuals who are 16 years old and older. Each local care team shall establish the terms of its members. Each local care team shall select its chair from among its members for a designated term of office. Each local care team: shall determine which of its members will have responsibility for its administrative functions; and if two or more members will share the responsibility, shall determine the rotation of the administrative functions. Subject to the availability of funds, a parent or parent advocate who is a member of a local care team may receive: the compensation provided in the State or local budget; and reimbursement for expenses, in accordance with the Standard State Travel Regulations.

A local care team shall: be a forum for: families of children with intensive needs to receive assistance with the identification of individual needs and potential resources to meet identified needs; and interagency discussions and problem solving for individual child and family needs and systemic needs; refer children and families to: care management entities when appropriate; and available local and community resources; provide training and technical assistance to local agency and community partners; identify and share resource development needs and communicate with the care management entity, local core service agencies, or local behavioral health authority, provider networks, local management boards, and other local care teams in surrounding jurisdictions; and discuss a request for a voluntary placement agreement for a child with a developmental disability or a mental illness under § 5–525 of the Family Law Article.

A parent or guardian of a child and the child’s attorney may attend any meeting of the Council or the local care team at which the child’s care is discussed. At least 10 days before the meeting, the Council or local care team shall notify each parent or guardian of the child and the child’s attorney of the date, time, and location of any meeting the Council or the local care team plans to hold to discuss the child’s out–of–state placement. The Council or the local care team shall notify each parent or guardian of the child and the child’s attorney in writing of: any decision the Council or local care team makes concerning the child’s out–of–state placement; and the right of the parent, guardian, or attorney to appeal a decision made by the Council or the local care team concerning the child’s out–of–state placement.